Kin of enforced disappearances, EJK victims call for a stop to violence

A woman lights a candle during a prayer rally for the state violence victims at Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City.  PHOTO/Noy Morcoso, INQUIRER.net

As Filipinos observe All Souls’ Day, dozens of families of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings (EJK) victims gathered on Thursday to light thousands of candles and offer prayers for the fatalities of state violence.

Members of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearances (Find), a group of families of desaparecidos, spent their All Souls’ Day with the families of EJKs linked to the government’s war on drugs at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Center in Quezon City.

The event, dubbed as “Libong Kandila at Panalangin para sa Libu-libong Biktima ng Karahasan,” aimed to remember victims, expose the real state of human rights situation in the country and call for a stop to violence and killings.

“The families of victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are one in holding the state accountable for these heinous and violent transgressions of human rights,” said Nilda Sevilla, FIND co-chairperson said.

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“Together, they must break their silence—demand truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition—in order to break impunity,” she added.

Every year, members of Find come together to observe the All Saints’ Day to remember their missing loved ones as they have no graves to visit and have no closure on the fate of their beloved.

During the event’s Mass, Fr. Flaviano “Flavie” Villanueva said: “Ang bawat buhay ng tao ay nagmula sa Diyos. Dahil nagmula sa kanya, ang buhay ay sagrado. Ito’y dapat kalingain at pagyamanin. Ngunit kung ating babastusin, binabastos din natin ang Diyos.”

(Each person’s life is from God. Because it came from him, each life is sacred. It shall be taken care of and be enriched. If will dishonor it, they will also dishonor the Lord.)

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Since the government launched its deadly campaign against illegal drugs last year, thousands of suspected drug pushers and users have been killed, either in police operations or by vigilantes.

The campaign has drawn public condemnation and raised serious concerns from members of the international community.

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